The present invention relates generally to tape dispensing devices, and more particularly to an adhesive tape dispenser that prevents adhesive tape retraction and clinging, while also facilitating convenient adhesive tape roll reloading.
As indicated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a conventional adhesive tape dispenser 80 is comprised of a dispensing body 81 of one-piece injection molded plastic construction having a front portion 81, a side portion 83 extending contiguously back from each of the left and right ends of the front portion 11, and a roll transport portion 84 projecting inward from the interior lateral surface of each said side portion 83, wherein a vertical post 85 is disposed on the interior surface at the rear end of one roll transport portion 84 and a vertical hole 86 is formed on the interior surface at the rear end of the other roll transport portion 84, and a blade 87 mounted on the bottom surface of the dispensing body 81 front portion 81.
During utilization, the two side portions 83 are spread outward an appropriate degree and a roll of adhesive tape is rotatably placed onto the two roll transport portions 84 and then the post 85 is inserted into the hole 86 to conjoin the two roll transport portions 84 together, following which the adhesive tape is pulled forward to the bottom side of he said front portion 82 and the adhesive tape is applied onto an object as the tape dispenser 80 is moved backward such that the adhesive tape is continuously unrolled forward for application and finally cut by the blade 87.
The tape dispenser 80 has the advantages of structural simplicity and low production cost, but exhibits the following two shortcomings during utilization that await improvement:
1. Since the adhesive tape roll rotates freely on the roll transport portions 84, the rotational direction of the adhesive tape roll can be reversed due to angular disposition or an unanticipated application of external force, causing a small portion at the adhesive tape end of to spindle back and stick onto the circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll; as such, it is necessary to undertake the troublesome ordeal of once again finding the end of the adhesive tape during usage.
2. The use of the vertical post 85 and vertical hole 86 to conjoin the two roll transport portions 84 achieves an approximate tangential relationship between the curved surfaces of the roll transport portions 84 and, furthermore, since the post 85 must be inserted upward into the bottom end of the hole 86, when the adhesive tape roll is loaded and the post 85 must be inserted into the hole 86 or the post 85 must be drawn out of the hole 86, the two roll transport portions 84 have to be radially aligned up and down a certain degree; however, since the roll transport portions 84 are conjoined under the inner circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll., the alignment procedure is hampered by the inner circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll such that loading the adhesive tape roll is difficult.
Referring to FIG. 3, it is an another similar type conventional adhesive tape dispenser 90, the physical structure resembles the previous dispenser, but has a check portion 92 disposed on the inner lateral surfaces towards the front end of each side portion 91 such that after the adhesive tape is cut, a small portion of it hangs down and sticks lightly onto the two check portions 92, thereby preventing the end of the adhesive tape from becoming retracted onto the circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll. While this method reduces the occurrence of adhesive tape back spindling and sticking, any reverse rotation caused by an unintended application of force easily detaches the adhesive tape end from the check portions 92, which is then retracted onto the circumferential surface of the roll. As a result, such conventional adhesive tape dispensers are incapable of effectively solving the problem of adhesive tape retraction onto the adhesive tape roll.
In addition, the dispenser 90 has a forward facing fastening hook 94 at the interior rear side of one roll transport portion 93 and a rearward facing fastening hook 95 at the interior rear side of its other roll transport portion (not fully shown in the drawing). During utilization, the two fastening hooks 94 and 95 are engaged to conjoin the two roll transport portions 93. However, the design requires that the two roll transport portions 93 be radially aligned at the front and the rear and are similarly hampered by the circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll and inconveniencing operation.
Furthermore, referring to U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,450, the invention addresses the adhesive tape retraction and sticking problem by providing an improved structure tape dispenser have a roller bar capable of rotating in a single direction or moving upward at an angle to thereby effectively prevent the tape end from retracting upon itself. However, such a design is of greater structural complexity and higher production cost.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an adhesive tape dispenser that prevents the end of the adhesive tape from spindling back and clinging to the circumferential surface of the adhesive tape roll to thereby increase convenience during utilization; furthermore, the present invention is structurally simple and of lower production cost.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an adhesive tape dispenser in which the loading and unloading of the adhesive tape roll requires less effort and is more expedient.
To achieve the objectives, the adhesive tape dispenser provided by the present invention is comprised of a dispensing body of one-piece injection molded plastic construction having a front portion, two side portions respectively extending back from the left and right ends of the front portion, two roll transport portions respectively protruding inward from the interior surfaces of said side portions, and at least one check portion disposed at the front ends of the interior surfaces of said side portions. A blade is mounted on the front portion of the dispensing body. At least one tensile anti-reverse member is extended from the peripheral surfaces of the roll transport portions of the dispensing body and oriented to follow the rotational direction of the adhesive tape roll that is rotated forward in application. As such, the adhesive tape roll can be rotated forward to apply tape, but the adhesive tape roll cannot be easily rotated backward due to the braking action occurring at the rear extremity of the tensile anti-reverse member.
In addition, the tape dispenser of the present invention further comprises at least one snap-fit recess portion formed on the inner end of one of the roll transport portions, with the opposing said roll transport portion having at least one split post portion for inserting the snap-fit recess portion so as to fasten the two roll transport portions together at an appropriate degree of tightness. As such, the two roll transport portions are conjoined or separated axially along the roll of adhesive tape and are not hampered by the inner circumference of the adhesive tape roll.